One of the world’s most easily recognisable paintings, Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’, has gone under the hammer for a whopping $119.9 million and it’s now the most expensive painting ever to be sold at auction.
There’s a fair few things we’d buy if we had $119.9 million. Flash gaffs, fast cars and even faster women – naturally – but splashing out all that money on just one painting wouldn’t be top of our priorities. That hasn’t stopped one anonymous bidder from setting a world record for the most expensive painting sold at auction.
‘The Scream’ was sold at Sotheby’s in New York after what was reported as ten minutes of intense bidding between two telephone bidders. It was estimated that the painting would fetch up to $80 million, but that was quickly surpassed on Wednesday night.
Before ‘The Scream’ stole the show in New York this week, the world’s most expensive painting to be sold at auction was Pablo Picasso’s ‘Nude, Green Leaves and Bust‘.
According to the Irish Independent, the version sold last night is one of four made by Munch, but it’s the only one remaining in private hands.
So, what would you rather: one painting that you can hang over your mantle beside a fake life-sized copy of it that you bought in the gift shop for about €5, or would you prefer a fleet an army of Bugatti Veyrons?
What a dilemma.
